Birmingham father and son linked to £20m heroin hidden in juice boxes

A father and son have been sentenced after more than £20m of heroin was discovered inside juice cartons, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has said.

Colin Bartlett, 54 and Lee Bartlett, 30, from Birmingham, were part of an organised crime group that imported pomegranate juice laced with heroin from Afghanistan.

Heroin weighing more than 420kg with a street value of £20,350,000 was recovered from a shipping container in Birmingham in May 2023.

Colin Bartlett was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment and Lee Bartlett for 18 months’ imprisonment, both suspended for two years.

The NCA said it arrested the two men in Birmingham as they unloaded the container of 2.6 tonnes of pomegranate juice.

The drugs had been concealed within the liquid and mixed with legitimate bottles.

The father and son from Bordesley Green were found guilty of participating in the criminal activities of an organised crime group at Birmingham Crown Court in August 2025 and were sentenced on Friday, the NCA said.

They were found not guilty of conspiracy to evade the prohibition on the importation of a controlled drug, it added.

Eleven paid workers who were arrested as they unloaded the container with the Bartletts were not believed to be involved with the conspiracy to import controlled drugs, the NCA said.

NCA Branch Commander Derek Evans said: “These men were part of an organised crime group seeking to import huge quantities of heroin into the UK, potentially generating millions of pounds of criminal profit and endangering vulnerable people across the country.

“Tackling class A drug trafficking is a priority for the NCA and we will continue to do all we can to stop those who try to import it.”

The NCA is appealing for help track down two men wanted as part of the ongoing investigation.

Shamut Khan, 56, and Matiullah Zamankhel, 23, both from the Washwood Heath area of Birmingham, are wanted for failing to answer bail in November 2023.

Mr Evans said: “These men are known to have associations and links to the Alum Rock and Shaw Hill Road areas of Birmingham, but they may be further afield.

“Khan and Zamankhel will know they are wanted by the NCA and should be absolutely certain that we won’t rest until we have tracked them down.

“If members of the public do see Khan and Zamankhel, we ask them to contact us straight away.”

“We know these men come from a close-knit community and we would like to remind anyone helping them, or frustrating our attempts to locate him, that they could also find themselves being arrested.”